Utah County, Utah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Utah County
U.S. county
Historic Utah County Courthouse
Flag
Location within the U.S. state of Utah
Utah's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Utah
Founded	January 31, 1850 (created) April 18, 1852 (organized)
Named for	Ute Tribe
Seat	Provo
Largest city	Provo
Area
• Total	2,144 sq mi (5,550 km2)
• Land	2,003 sq mi (5,190 km2)
• Water	141 sq mi (370 km2)  6.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	659,399
• Density	307.56/sq mi (118.748/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional districts	3rd, 4th

Utah County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Utah. The county seat and largest city is Provo, which is the state's fourth-largest city, and the largest outside of Salt Lake County. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 665,665.

Utah County is one of two counties forming the Provo-Orem metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the larger Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UT Combined Statistical Area. In 2020, the center of population of Utah was in Utah County, in the city of Saratoga Springs.

Utah County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States, ranking among the top ten counties in numerical growth. Correspondingly, Provo-Orem is among the top eight metropolitan areas by percentage growth in the country.

Utah County is one of seven counties in the United States to have the same name as its state. The other six counties are Arkansas County, Hawaii County, Idaho County, Iowa County, Oklahoma County and New York County (commonly known as Manhattan).

History

The legislature of the State of Deseret created a county on January 31, 1850, to govern the civic affairs of Utah Valley, which by the 1850s was bustling with newly arrived settlers. The county name is derived from the valley name, which is derived from the Spanish name (Yuta) for the Ute Indians. The State of Deseret dissolved soon after (April 5, 1851), but the counties it had set in place continued. There is little record of any official activity conducted by the fledgling county until April 18, 1852, when a full slate of county officials was published, and recordkeeping began. The first courthouse was built in central Provo in 1866–67. It was soon outgrown and was replaced by a second courthouse (1872–73). By the 1920s, this building was also cramped, and the decision was made to erect a combined city-county building, which was completed in 1926.

The county's boundaries were adjusted in 1852, 1854, 1856, 1862, 1880, and 1884. It has retained its present boundary since 1884.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,144 square miles (5,550 km²), of which 2,003 square miles (5,190 km²) is land and 141 square miles (370 km²) (6.6%) is water.

Utah Valley lies at the center of the county, lined by the mountains of the Wasatch Range on the east. Utah Lake occupies a large part of the valley. The elevation ranges from 4,487 feet (1,368 m) above sea level at the lake to 11,928 feet (3,636 m) at the peak of Mount Nebo.

Adjacent counties

• Salt Lake (north)
• Tooele (west)
• Wasatch (east)
• Juab (southwest)
• Sanpete (south)
• Carbon (southeast)
• Duchesne (east)

A partial view of Utah Valley seen here from outside of Salem

National protected areas

• Ashley National Forest (part)
• Manti-La Sal National Forest (part)
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument
• Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (part)

Demographics

The 2000 census was the first to allow residents to select multiple race categories. Prior to 2000, the census used the category 'Other Race' as a catch-all identifier. For county-level census data in 1950 and 1900, Utah counted all non-White and non-Black residents using this category. 'Other races' formed 1.4% of Utah County's population in 1990, 0.43% in 1950, and 0.07% in 1900.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 659,399 people and 171,899 households in the county. The population density was 329.12/sqmi (127.02/km²). There were 192,570 housing units, at an average density of 96.12/sqmi (37.1/km²). The county's racial makeup was 89.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, 0.8% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 4.6% some other race, and 2.7% from two or more races. 10.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 140,602 households, out of which 47.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.9% were headed by married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.7% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57, and the average family size was 3.88.

The county's population was spread out, with 35.2% under the age of 18, 15.8% from 18 to 24, 28% from 25 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $45,833, and the median income for a family was $50,196. Males had a median income of $37,878 versus $22,656 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,557. About 6.80% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 4.80% of those age 65 or over.

The five most reported ancestries in Utah County are:

• English-28.1%
• German-10.5%
• Irish-5.0%
• Mexican-5%
• Scottish-4%

Religion

Social issues

..... The 2008 documentary Happy Valley examined the problem.

Giving USA, which reports on charitable giving in the US, named Utah County as one of the three most generous counties in philanthropic donations, alongside San Juan County, Utah and Madison County, Idaho.

In 2019, one in eight people and one in six children in the county did not have sufficient food.

Infrastructure

Much of Utah's transportation infrastructure was built to support automobiles. Prior to the 1950s, Utah County relied on the U.S. Highway System for local transportation. When I-15 was built in 1956 (parallel to Highway 89), it became the dominant transportation vein in the state. The I-15 CORE project added multiple lanes on I-15 through most of Utah County. This expanded 24 miles (39 km) of freeway and was completed in 2012. Other construction projects by UDOT have been done on I-15 since then, including the Technology Corridor project and the Point of the Mountain project. However, the highway system retains its significance in Utah County due to the mountainous terrain. Highway 6 is the closest major road connecting Colorado to the Wasatch Front, running through Spanish Fork Canyon before converging with I-15 in the city of Spanish Fork. Portions of Highway 89 have become prominent local roads known collectively as 'State Street'. Highway 189 is known as 'University Avenue' in the city of Provo, and runs through Provo Canyon into Heber in neighboring Wasatch County.

Utah County has seen significant growth in public transportation over the past 15 years, owing in part to the county's large student population of more than 70,000 commuting to-and-from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo and Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem. The two cities jointly operate UVX, a bus rapid transit system, as part of their city bus routes. Provo also serves as the southernmost terminus of the FrontRunner, Utah's intrastate commuter rail service. The Provo FrontRunner station is located on South University Avenue, directly southwest of Amtrak's Provo Station—which is Utah's third westbound stop, after Green River and Helper, for the California Zephyr Amtrak route. In addition to Provo, The FrontRunner currently has three stops in the county. The Orem FrontRunner station is located on the west side of I-15, served by a pedestrian bridge over the freeway that connects the UVU campus directly to the station. An additional stop in Vineyard, Utah was completed in August 2022. Utah County also operates the American Fork FrontRunner Station and the Lehi FrontRunner Station located near Thanksgiving Point. From Lehi, the FrontRunner leaves Utah County and enters Salt Lake County.

Education

School districts

• Alpine School District
• Provo School District
• Nebo School District

Colleges and universities

Four-year institutions

• Brigham Young University (private)
• Utah Valley University (public)
• Provo College (private for-profit)
• Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (private for-profit)

Two-year institutions

• Mountainland Technical College (public)

Communities

Utah Valley, Utah County as seen from Traverse Ridge in Lehi

Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range is visible from much of Utah County.

Cities

Towns

• Cedar Fort
• Fairfield
• Genola
• Goshen
• Vineyard

Census-designated places

• Benjamin
• Elberta
• Lake Shore
• Palmyra
• Spring Lake
• West Mountain

Unincorporated communities

• Birdseye
• Vivian Park

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Utah para niños